Chapter: Ila', Keeping away from one's wives and giving them the choice, And the saying of Allah, The Most High: "But if you help one another against him
6 hadith
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It is narrated from Samak Abu Zumail, (he said:) Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated a hadith to me, (he said:) Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated a hadith to me, he said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) separated himself from his wives, he said: I entered the mosque and saw the people (in distress and worry) striking pebbles on the ground, and saying: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has divorced his wives. This incident occurred before the command of veiling was given. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said (to myself): Today I will find out about this matter. He said: I went to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), and said: O daughter of Abu Bakr! Have you reached the point that you hurt the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)? She replied: O son of Khattab! What do you have to do with me? Take care of your own bundle (or bag, i.e., your daughter Hafsa, may Allah be pleased with her). He said: Then I went to (my daughter) Hafsa bint Umar (may Allah be pleased with her) and said: Hafsa! Have you reached the point that you hurt the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)? By Allah! You know well that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) does not love you. If it were not for me, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have divorced you. (Upon hearing this) she began to weep bitterly. I asked her: Where is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)? She replied: He is in his upper room, in the place where he keeps his belongings. I went there and saw the Messenger of Allah’s servant Rabah sitting on the lower threshold of the upper room. He had his legs hanging on the perforated wooden ladder. It was a trunk of a date-palm tree, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would ascend and descend on it. I called out: Rabah! Seek permission for me to come to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Rabah looked towards the upper room, then looked at me and said nothing. I said again: Rabah! Seek permission for me to come to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Rabah again looked towards the upper room, then looked at me and said nothing. Then I raised my voice and said: O Rabah! Seek permission for me to come to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). I think the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has thought that I have come to intercede for Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her). By Allah! If the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commands me to behead her, I will behead her. And I raised my voice (loudly), so he gestured to me to come up. I presented myself before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he was lying on a mat, I sat down, he adjusted his lower garment and there was nothing else on his body, and the mat had left marks on his body. I saw with my own eyes in the Messenger of Allah’s storage room only a handful of barley, about a sa’ in quantity, and in one corner of the room an equal amount of acacia bark. Besides this, an undressed leather was hanging. He said: My eyes overflowed with tears. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked: “O son of Khattab! What is making you weep?” I said: O Prophet of Allah! Why should I not weep? This mat has left marks on your pure body, and this is your storage room, and in it is only what I see, while Caesar and Chosroes are living among rivers and fruits (in luxury), and you are the Messenger of Allah and His chosen one, and this is all your possession. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “O son of Khattab! Are you not pleased that for us is the Hereafter and for them is the world?” I said: Why not! He said: When I entered upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), I saw anger on his face. I said: O Messenger of Allah! What difficulty do you have because of the condition of your wives? If you have divorced them, then Allah is with you, His angels, Jibreel, Mika’il, I, Abu Bakr, and all the believers are with you. And I thank Allah that I have rarely said anything except that I hoped Allah would confirm what I said. (And so it happened) and the verse of choice (takheer) was revealed: “If he (the Prophet) divorces you all, it may be that his Lord will give him in exchange wives better than you.” And: “If you two help each other against him, then Allah is his Protector, and Jibreel and the righteous believers, and after that the angels are his helpers.” Aisha bint Abi Bakr and Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with them) used to support each other against all the other wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). I said: O Messenger of Allah! Have you divorced them? He said: “No.” I said: O Messenger of Allah! I entered the mosque and the people were striking pebbles on the ground and saying: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has divorced his wives. Shall I go down and inform them that you have not divorced them? He said: “Yes, if you wish.” I kept talking to you until the anger left your face, and until your lips moved and you smiled. Your front teeth were more beautiful than all people. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) descended (from the upper room). I descended holding the trunk, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) descended as if he were walking on the ground, he did not touch the trunk with his hand. I said: O Messenger of Allah! You stayed in the upper room for twenty-nine days. He said: “A month is twenty-nine days.” So I stood at the door of the mosque and called out in a loud voice: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has not divorced his wives. And (then) this verse was revealed: “And when there comes to them any news of security or fear, they spread it. But if they had referred it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and to those in authority among them, then those who can draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it.” So it was I who drew the correct conclusion about this matter, and Allah revealed the verse of choice (takheer).
'Abdullah bin Abbas (RA) reported: I intended to ask 'Umar bin al-Khattab (RA) about a verse, but I waited for one year to ask him out of his fear, until he went out for Pilgrimage and I also accompanied him. As he came back and we were on the way he stepped aside towards an Arak tree to ease himself. I waited for him until he was free. I then walked along with him and said: Commander of the Faithful, who are the two among the wives of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) who backed up one another (in their demand for extra money)? He said: They were Hafsa and 'A'isha (RA) . I said to him: It is for one year that I intended to ask you about this matter but I could not date so on account of the awe for you. He said: Don't do that. If you think that I have any knowledge, do ask me about that. And if I were to know that, I would inform you. He (the narrator) stated that 'Umar had said: By Allah, during the days of ignorance we had no regard for women until Allah the Exalt- ed revealed about them what He has revealed, and appointed (turn) for them what he appointed. He said: It so happened that I was thinking about some matter that my wife said: I wish you had done that and that. I said to her: It does not concern you and you should not feel disturbed in a matter which I intend to do. She said to me: How strange is it that you, O son of Khattab, do not like anyone to retort upon you, whereas your daughter retorts upon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) until he spends the day in vexation. 'Umar said: I took hold of my cloak, then came out of my house until I visited Hafsa and said to her: O daughter, (I heard) that you retort upon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) until he spends the day in vexation, whereupon Hafsa said: By Allah, we do retort upon him. I said: You should bear in mind, my daughter, that I warn you against the punishment of Allah and the wrath of His Messenger (ﷺ) . You may not be misled by one whose beauty has fascinated her, and the love of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) for her. I ('Umar) then visited Umm Salamah because of my relationship with her and I talked to her. Umm Salamah said to me: Umar bin al-Khattab, how strange is it that you meddle with every matter so much so that you are anxious to interfere between Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and his wives, and this perturbed me so much that I refrained from saying what I had to say, so I came out of her apartment, and I had a friend from the Ansar. When I had been absent (from the company of the Holy Prophet) he used to bring me the news and when he had been absent I used to bring him the news, and at that time we dreaded a king of Ghassan. It was mentioned to us that he intended to attack us, and our minds were haunted by him. My friend, the Ansari, came to me, and he knocked at the door and said: Open it, open it. I said: Has the Ghassani come? He said: (The matter is) more serious than that. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has separated himself from his wives. I said: Let the nose of Hafsa and 'A'isha be besmeared with dust. I then took hold of my cloth and went out until I came and found Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in his attic to which he climbed by means of a ladder made of date-palm, and the servant of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) who was black had been sitting at the end of the ladder. I said: This is Umar. So permission was granted to me. I narrated this news to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and as I narrated the news concerning Umm Salamah, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) smiled. He was lying on the mat and there was nothing between him and that (mat), and under his head there was a pillow made of leather and it was stuffed with palm fibres and at his feet were lying a heap of saut tree (acacia niloctica, meant for dyeing) and near his head there was hanging a hide. And I saw the marks of the mat on the side of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) , and so I wept. He said: What makes you weep? I said: Messenger of Allah, the Khusrau and the Ceasars spend their lives in the midst of luxuries, whereas you being Allah's Messenger (are leading your life in this poverty). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Don't you like that they should have riches of their world, and you have the Hereafter.
Ibn Abbas (RA) said: I came along with Umar until we reached Marr al-Zahran (the name of a place), and the rest of the hadith is the same as narrated by Sulaiman bin Bilal (RA) (except with) the variation (of words) that I said: (What) about these two women? He said: They were Hafsa and Umm Salamah. And he made this addition: I came to the apartments and in every apartment there was (the noise) of weeping. And this addition was also made: And he (the Holy Prophet) had taken an oath of remaining away from them for a month, and when twenty-nine days had passed, he visited them.
Ibn Abbas (RA) is reported to have said: I intended to ask Umar about those two ladies who had pressed for (worldly riches) during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) , and I kept waiting for one year, but found no suitable opportunity with him until I happened to accompany him to Makkah. And as he reached Marr al Zahran he went away to answer the call of nature, and he said (to me): Bring me a jug of water, and I took that to him. After having answered the call of nature, as he came back, I began to pour water (over his hands and feet), and I remembered (this event of separation of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) [may peace be upon him] from his wives). So I said to him: Commander of the Faithful, who are the two ladies (who had pressed the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) [may peace be upon him] for providing comforts of life) and I had not yet finished my talk when he said: They were 'A'isha and Hafsa.
Mu’ammar narrated from Zuhri, who narrated from ‘Ubaydullah bin ‘Abdullah bin Abi Thawr, who narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), who said: I was very eager to ask ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) about those two wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding whom Allah, the Exalted, said: “If you two turn in repentance to Allah, then indeed your hearts have inclined (to the truth)” until ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) performed Hajj and I also performed Hajj with him. (On the way back) we were in a part of the road when ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) turned aside (for his need) and I also turned aside with a water vessel. He went into the desert, then came to me, so I poured water on his hands and he performed ablution. I said: O Commander of the Faithful! Who were those two wives among the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about whom Allah, the Exalted, said: “If you two turn in repentance to Allah, then indeed your hearts have inclined (to the truth)?” ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Ibn ‘Abbas! I am amazed at you! ... Zuhri said: By Allah! The question he (Ibn ‘Abbas) asked him displeased him, and he did not conceal (the answer). He said: They were Hafsah and ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with them). Then ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) began to narrate and said: We, the people of Quraysh, were a people who used to dominate our women. When we came to Madinah, we found a people whose women dominated them, so our women began to learn from their women (and started replying to men). ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: My house was in the upper area in the neighborhood of Banu Umayyah bin Zayd. One day I became angry with my wife, and she replied to me. I found her reply very unpleasant, so she said: Do you find it unpleasant that I reply to you? By Allah! The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also reply to him, and one of them even keeps away from him for the whole day until night (remaining upset). I went to Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) and said: Do you reply to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? She said: Yes. I (then) asked: Does any of you keep away from him for the whole day until night? She said: Yes! I said: Whoever among you does that has failed and incurred loss. Does any of you feel secure that, due to the anger of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Allah will not become angry with her and she will be ruined? (In the future) do not reply to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and do not ask him for anything; whatever you need, ask me. Do not let it deceive you that your neighbor (co-wife) is more beautiful than you and more beloved to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He meant ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: ... I had a neighbor from among the Ansar ... We used to take turns going down (from the upper area) to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). One day he would go down and one day I would go down. He would bring me news of revelation and so on, and I would bring him similar news on my day. (In those days) we were talking among ourselves that the Ghassanids were preparing their horses to fight us. My companion went down (from ‘Awali to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him), then came to me at nightfall, knocked on my door, and called me. I came out and he said: A great event has occurred. I asked: What happened? Have the Ghassanids come? He said: No, but it is even greater and more serious than that. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has divorced his wives. I said: Hafsah has failed and incurred loss. I already thought this was going to happen. (The next day) when I had performed the morning prayer, I put on my clothes, came to Madinah, and went to Hafsah. She was crying. I asked: Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) divorce all of you? She said: I do not know, but he is secluded in that upper room. I went to his black slave and said: Ask permission for ‘Umar. He went in, then came out to me and said: I mentioned you to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he remained silent. I went away until I sat by the pulpit, and there were many people sitting there, some of them weeping. I sat for a while, then the state that had overcome me overwhelmed me again. I went to the slave and said: Ask permission for ‘Umar. He entered, then came out to me and said: I mentioned you to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he remained silent. I turned away, and suddenly the slave called me and said: Enter, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has given you permission. I entered, greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and saw that he was reclining on a mat made of palm fibers, which had left marks on his side. I said: O Messenger of Allah, have you divorced your wives? He raised his blessed head towards me and said: “No.” I said: Allah is the Greatest. O Messenger of Allah! If you had seen us, we Quraysh were a people who used to dominate our women. When we came to Madinah, we found a people whose women dominated them, so our women began to learn from their women (and started replying to men). One day I became angry with my wife, and she replied to me. I found her reply extremely unpleasant. She said: Do you find it unpleasant that I reply to you? By Allah! The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also reply to him, and one of them even keeps away from him until night (remaining upset). So I said: Whoever among them does that has failed and incurred loss. Can any of them feel secure that, by doing this, Allah will not become angry with her due to the anger of His Messenger, and she will be ruined? At this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled. So I said: O Messenger of Allah! I went to Hafsah and said to her: Do not let it deceive you that your neighbor (co-wife) is more beautiful than you and more beloved to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). At this, he smiled again. So I said: O Messenger of Allah! (May I sit and) talk with you? He said: “Yes.” So I sat down and looked around the house, and by Allah! I saw nothing in it except three hides. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Pray to Allah to grant abundance to your Ummah. The Persians and Romans have been given abundance, even though they do not worship Allah, the Exalted. At this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat up straight and said: “O son of al-Khattab! Are you in doubt? They are people whose good things have been hastened for them in this world.” I said: O Messenger of Allah! Seek forgiveness for me. And you had sworn, due to your intense anger at them (your wives), that you would not go to them for a month, until Allah, the Exalted, admonished you (for being grieved at your wives’ words and for vowing to abstain from lawful things).
Zuhri said: 'Urwa informed me that 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) said: When twenty-nine nights were over, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) visited me, and he began (his visit) with me. I said: Messenger of Allah, you had taken an oath that you would not visit us for a month, while you have visited after I have counted only twenty-nine (nights). Thereupon he said: The month may also be of twenty-nine (days). He then said: 'A'isha, I am going to talk to you about a matter, and you should not be hasty in it (and do not give your final decision) until you have consulted your parents. He then recited this verse to me: "O Prophet, say to your wives" till he reached "mighty reward" (xxxiii. 28). 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) said: By Allah, he knew that my parents would not allow me to separate from him. I said: Is there any need to consult my parents in this matter? I in fact choose Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) and the abode in the Hereafter. Ma'mar said: Ayyub reported to me that 'A'isha said: Don't inform your wives that I have chosen you, whereupon Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) said: Verily Allah has sent me as a conveyer of message, and He has not sent me as a source of hardship (to others). Qatada said: "Saghat qulubukum" means "Your hearts have inclined."